Maddocks: Hoping to remain a player, FCC seeks merger with House of Cards’

Sunday

Feb 23, 2014 at 12:42 AM

By Philip Maddocks

Hoping to regain its lost clout in the fast-changing business of broadband, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department are seeking to merge with the Netflix series "House of Cards.""With a Golden Globe on our shelf and Francis Underwood on our team, we will be set to become a dominant voice in this industry once again," the Justice Department and the FCC wrote in a joint statement, referring to the calculating politician who is the central character of the award-winning "House of Cards.""We will be able to offer a strong and entertaining counterbalance to the growing power of Comcast," the agencies added, "And we will accomplish this while continuing to do the people’s business, but with a better stage presence and more of a flair for the dramatic."For the government agencies, the chance to join forces with the "House of Cards" franchise was an opportunity simply too compelling to ignore, according to Sterling Schaefer, who analyzes government-entertainment mergers for IZT Investments."Adding ‘House of Cards’ and Francis Underwood has advertising as well as regulatory potential, along, of course, with the show’s interest among voters, which provides an enviable acquisition for those agencies," Mr. Schaefer said.The broad implications of the federal agencies’ merger with a wildly popular and critically acclaimed streaming broadcast series are sure to invite scrutiny. And consumer groups, lawmakers and unions who have disapproved of Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable seem less certain about the merits of the FCC and Justice Department proposal."This is the future – I guess," said a slightly bewildered Gene Kimmelman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge and a former antirust official at the Justice Department. "Someone seems to be in the driver’s seat – at least I hope someone is there. I’m just not sure who that is at this point."Mr. Kimmelman noted that even with the addition of the hit series, the government agencies still lacked the entertainment footprint that Comcast has gained with its purchase of NBC Universal and its pending merger with Time Warner Cable. But, he said, size may not be the whole story.By acquiring a fictional Congress and executive branch that appear capable of getting things done – and in a way that attracts tens of millions of voters for hours at a time - the government may have reinvented what it means to be an entertainment kingmaker and a federal regulator."This is complicated and almost hard to believe," Mr. Kimmelman said, "but that may be just what the government needs to become a player again in the broadcast industry."Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Democrat from West Virginia who heads the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, acknowledged that the proposed merger with "House of Cards" may raise serious questions that deserve thorough scrutiny – and perhaps even consideration as the basis for a new Netflix series."I’m not sure we want to be in this position," he said. "But the fact is, as Francis Underwood shows us time and again, those who don’t take care of their own business in Washington run the risk of having someone else take care of it for them."Other lawmakers, including senators Al Franken, Edward J. Markey and Amy Klobuchar, made similar statements, holding out Mr. Underwood as a man of many flaws but also as a political operative who would know what to do about Comcast and how to do it in a way that gains the voters’ undivided attention.Ms. Klobuchar, the head of the Senate antitrust committee, has also reportedly promised a hearing to "carefully scrutinize the details of the "House of Cards" merger and its potential consequences for both consumers and competitions as well as possible future Justice Department/FCC streaming productions." Perhaps, Ms. Klobuchar added hopefully, Mr. Underwood would be able to join them while taking a star turn testifying at the hearing – his post-Season 2 commitments permitting.In their joint statement, the Justice Department and the FCC wrote that they are confident the "House of Cards" deal will win regulatory approval because they do not operate in any of the same zip codes as the fictional broadcast. But the agencies also conceded that with the merger they are moving the federal government and the country in a new direction fraught with potential conflicts and unforeseen consequences.Some lawmakers, feeling that unease, seemed to be looking for a way to push back against the Comcast proposal without blunting the regulatory powers of the government agencies."There’s not enough competition, and whatever else you might say about this deal with ‘House of Cards,’ it will enable the government to join in on the competition," Mr. Franken said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. "That part is good.""On the other hand," he said with a grimace, "this is all going in exactly the wrong direction."Philip Maddocks writes a weekly satirical column. He can be reached at pmaddocks@wickedlocal.com.